Book IWD Speaker: Emma Craven

Award-winning speaker amplifying late-diagnosed women’s voices & challenging the systems that left generations unrecognised & unsupported

Emma Craven is an award-winning speaker, neurodiversity advocate, psychology student and founder of the ADHD Reframed Project. Diagnosed with ADHD in 2019 at the age of 43, she uses lived experience, psychological knowledge and a strengths-based perspective to challenge the deficit-focused narratives that continue to shape public understanding of ADHD.

Emma founded the ADHD Reframed Project in December 2025 so that people with ADHD would not have to navigate diagnosis, shame, systemic barriers and self-advocacy alone. Through public speaking, podcasting, education, awareness content, and free individual advocacy, she works to make the realities of ADHD visible while creating compassionate and accessible spaces where people feel understood rather than judged.

Her advocacy has a particular focus on women diagnosed later in life, whom she describes as “the lost generation of women.” Emma speaks openly about why so many women were overlooked, including masking, perfectionism, people-pleasing, internalised shame and outdated stereotypes of what ADHD is expected to look like. She also explores the relationship between ADHD, hormonal transitions, mental health, trauma, education and the cumulative impact of spending decades without appropriate recognition or support.

Emma is completing a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at Arden University, where she has maintained First-Class academic standards. Something she didn’t think was possible and something that still surprises her to this day. She serves as a Programme Representative, contributes to the Programme Committee, is a member of the Student Inclusion Panel and is an ambassador for the university’s Neurodiversity Network. She has worked with academic leadership to improve the student experience and has advocated for personalised reasonable adjustments and virtual body-doubling opportunities for distance-learning students.

Her contributions have been recognised through her University Standout Student Award for Distance Learning, first place in the Inspirational Presenter category at the 2026 Arden University Student Conference, and public recognition from Vice-Chancellor Carl Lygo as a pioneer in student support. She was nominated for 3 categories- SheRo, Rising Star, and Women in Education- and was a finalist in the Agent of Change category at the 2025 She Inspires Awards. She was named a Mental Health Champion at the All4Inclusion Awards 2026.

Emma’s work is grounded in the belief that people with ADHD should not have to conceal who they are to be considered capable, credible or professional. She encourages individuals and organisations to move beyond asking what is wrong with a person and instead ask what barriers they face, what support they need, and what becomes possible when the environment is designed differently.

Through the ADHD Reframed Project, Emma is helping late-diagnosed women reinterpret their histories with greater compassion, advocate for their needs and move from surviving towards thriving. Her central message is clear: women with ADHD were never inherently failing. They were navigating lives and systems that had not been designed to recognise or support their brains.

Emma is dedicating the rest of her life to being professionally unprofessional in the hope of shining a light on the abilities of late-diagnosed ADHD women and how the world needs to change to be inclusive for these women.

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